For Day 3 of the Big Blogging Bonanza, I present Part 2 of a surprisingly long post, started yesterday. The A-Z of my favourite Authors does contain some - bending - of alphabetisation, but I did that so I could actually talk about some people who meant something to me, rather than random people whose names began with X. Here you go!
E. Nesbit
MAB (Most Amazing Books): The Railway Children, Five Children and It.
Edith Nesbit was a seriously strong woman - she wrote books in a time when female writers often used their initials rather than first names because they were thought to be less than men. I'm glad it didn't stop her, though, because her books are beautiful. They're full of nostalgia for a simpler time: The Railway Children inspired me to give up the internet for all of two-and-a-half hours, a record only surpassed by The Time Dad Couldn't Fix The WiFi.
That is powerful writing.
Michael MOrpurgO
When I was about eight, I remember my entire class going through a major Michael Morpurgo phase. Most of the other girls moved on to Jacqueline Wilson (who I also love, don't get me wrong) but I wouldn't stop reading until I'd finished all of his books - there are over one hundred. I'm ashamed to say that I never quite got there, but the journey sure was fun.
Stephanie Perkins
MAB: Lola and the Boy Next Door, Isla and the Happily Ever After.
Stephanie Perkins is, quite frankly, the perfect contemporary romance writer. Her characters are extraordinary yet relateable, and I love the way she hides characters from her previous books in later works. It actually got to the point in Isla that, when she met Lola and Cricket, I began to laugh out loud - it was such a strange yet brilliant experience to have a main character you adore described through the point of view of another.
Just don't make the mistake I did. Don't skip Anna and the French Kiss.
Quentin Blake (and Roald Dahl)
This author-illustrator dream-team were basically responsible for 80% of my reading material when I first started primary school. I haven't met a single person who grew up in Britain this generation who hasn't read anything by these two, and more recently, I'm loving Dahl's short stories for adults. The Great Automatic Grammatizator is a rather chilling read about a machine which can write novels with little human help. Let's hope the world doesn't come to that!
Rick Riordan
The Percy Jackson books are some of the most brilliant hidden-world fantasy stories absolutely ever. Percy himself is amazingly sarcastic, and he's one of the few characters who can make me laugh out loud even during re-reads. It also satisfies my slightly worrying obsession with polytheisms (religions containing more than one God), but honestly, I think I'm not that hardcore a fan. *cough* GirlReadingBooks *cough*.
Sarah Sky
I have a serious weakness for spy-style novels, and I love them even more when there's a little injection of girly glamour. Enter Jessica Cole: Model Spy.
These books are really good, as you can probably tell from their brilliant titles. Code Red Lipstick? Sign me up!
Lauren ST. John
MAB: White Giraffe series, Laura Marlin series, One Dollar Horse series.
Lauren St. John is one of those authors who lives a life almost as extraordinary as her characters' - that photo really is of her stroking a cheetah with her niece. The farm in White Giraffe is actually based on her childhood home, and, as an ex-horse-rider, I can tell you that One Dollar Horse is both accurate and fantastic.
Corey Ann HaydU
MAB: Life by Committee, OCD Love Story.
Haydu's Life by Committee wins the 'on my wishlist for the longest time before it was finally released' award - I think I waited a full six months with only the sample chapters for company, and it was agonising. Tabitha is a brilliantly well-rounded main character, and although I screamed at her for a few bad decisions, I think I was supposed to. OCD Love Story is high on my wish list by reputation - I can't wait to start it.
Veronica Roth
I love the whole message of Divergent, and the ending of the last one absolutely broke my heart. (highlight for spoiler) Couldn't Caleb had died instead? He deserved it! Mind you, the whole thing about choosing your own future and shaking off society's preconceptions really got me - but again, I'm only reasonably obsessed. Some people are a little more . . . into it. (Carmen, I really am talking to you here).
Go Teen Writers
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| From Left to Right: Stephanie Morrill, Jill Williamson, Shannon Dittemore and Roseanna White. |
Go Teen Writers is a blog encouraging, you guessed it, Teen Writers, and quite frankly, I can't live without it. It's the website that introduced me to all my other favourite blogs, and I've put it in my authors list because the people behind it are absolutely fantastic. Stephanie and Jill are the main contributors, but Ms. Dittemore has an awesome Friday slot and I love Ms. White's guest posts about Historical Fiction.
There is no earthly way I can come up with an X.
CathY CassidY
MAB: Chocolate Box Girls series, Dizzy, Gingersnaps.
Cathy Cassidy is, hands down, my favourite #UKYA author. I love how I can identify with her characters because they complain about Year Eight instead of Seventh Grade, and the message is beautiful. Gingersnaps in particular showed me that doing my own thing doesn't make me an outcast - it makes me unique.
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah's books are some of the darkest books I've ever read, but I love them because they're unflinchingly honest; in that way, they're a breath of fresh air. I'm quite lucky in that my life is sheltered from the bad stuff that some other teens face, and I'm glad that these books open my eyes to that a little.
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Do you have favourite authors, or just favourite books? And can you come up with an X for me?
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